Synopsis:
A Maiden…
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.
A Duty…
The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.
A Kingdom…
Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.
My thoughts:
4/5 stars.
A new New Adult fiction series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and this time she tackles fantasy and paranormal! I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! I read this in one sitting and I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards! I really liked the writing in this book. Having read nearly all of her books (with the exception of her J. Lynn and romance books, and the three new upcoming releases) I can say that her writing has definitely improved, and continues to improve as she publishes more books. For the first time since the Lux series, I could really envision the world as she meant it to and that made the reading experience so much more enjoyable.
The characters were not her best, comparing them with others and on their own. I missed some depth in the love interest and while our female protagonist was well-rounded enough, her stream of thoughts was at times a bit too monotonous. I do like how bad-ass Poppy was at times. She was trained and educated and she never forgot to make use of these two traits. I really liked that and I can almost overlook the fact that her being a virgin was practically her entire personality, because of her being so awesome with weapons. Almost.
The relationship between the protagonist and the love interest was very well done. I can honestly say that sparks flew between them from the very beginning and it definitely didn’t feel forced as other relationships I’ve read about. (I’m looking at you, How To Love by Katie Cotugno)
Overall the world-building was well done and intriguing. The story was interesting and propelling and kept me reading, even when the author went into a long tangent of world-building history in order to make the fantasy world appear more real.
I must say that I especially liked the ending. Not because the book had finally ended, but because it was the kind of ending that immediately made you want to read the next book and it’s been quite a while since I encountered such an ending!
Readers beware, there are some graphic *cough smut cough* scenes in here and if that is not your thing, consider yourself warned.
ReadingInsideaBellJar 